Adoption of a healthy lifestyle by US adults could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy, a recent study found. Using data from the Nurses’ Health Study (1980-2014; n=78,865) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2014; n=44,354), researchers defined 5 low-risk lifestyle factors as never smoking, body mass index (BMI) of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2, ≥30 min/day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, moderate alcohol intake, and a high diet quality score. They then estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for the association of total lifestyle scores (0-5 scale) with mortality. They found:

During up to 34 years of follow-up, 42,167 deaths were documented.

The multivariable-adjusted HRs for mortality in adults with 5 vs 0 low-risk factors were 0.26 for all-cause mortality, 0.35 for cancer mortality, and 0.18 for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.

The population-attributable risk of nonadherence to 5 low-risk factors was 60.7% for all-cause mortality, 51.7% for cancer mortality, and 71.7% for CVD mortality.

Life expectancy at age 50 years was estimated at 29.0 years for women and 25.5 years for men who adopted 0 low-risk lifestyle factors.

In contrast, those who adopted all 5 low-risk factors had a projected life expectancy at age 50 years of 43.1 years for women and 37.6 years for men.